Dreamless Nightmares
by Venomous Queen
Summary: Zacharie has a secret he has kept hidden from everyone he has ever known. But now, it has gone viral once more. With The Batter's assistance, he attempts to demolish the obstacles blocking his path in life that have been there since the day his life changed forever... ((ZACHARIE TAKES OFF HIS MASK OK. YOU BETTER READ IT THIS IS PURE GOLD. BAD BATTER TOO YES YES YES THUMBS UP))
1. Chapter 1

The wind blew through the open windows of Zacharie's office. He was polishing one of his masks, only one, because he still wanted to wear the other. It was raining outside, and the Meat Rivers gave off a horrible stench because of it. The 'closed' sign hung proudly on the front door, and the dim candlelight on the desk flickered as the wind blew past it. He stroked his finger down the left side of the toad mask's border and sighed blissfully.

"A great activity to do on a rainy day, don't you think? Ah ha ha."

He said to his mask, crossing his leg over his opposite knee. He leaned back in his reclining chair, pressing the mask up against his cheek. He spun around a few times, using his foot as a guide, and hummed the tune to a song he remembered from his childhood, notably, Over the Rainbow. Outside, the Batter stood, staring at the 'closed' sign on the door, hearing Zacharie clearly singing through the open windows. He slowly grabbed onto the doorknob and turned it, figuring out that it was ironically unlocked. He let himself in, placing his bat by the door.

"Zacharie, I know you're in here."

He shouted, hearing what sounded like a chair falling and a young man screaming in the office room. The Batter opened the door to see that Zacharie had fallen back in the chair, his legs sticking up like tree trunks.

"Hello, mi amigo."

Zacharie chuckled, still remaining to lie down on the floor. The Batter did nothing to assist him.

"I need a way of transportation."

"Well, I can help you there."

Zacharie replied reassuringly, trying to get himself up. He rolled off of the chair, making more of a clatter than him originally falling in the first place.

"Need help?"

The Batter offered, walking over to Zacharie and lending him a hand. Zacharie thankfully reached over to his hand and pulled himself up.

"Thanks, Batter."

The Batter nodded. Zacharie brushed himself off and grinned.

"What sort of transportation were you looking for?"

"I was specifically looking for a sort of train mechanism, yet it doesn't exactly run on a track-"

"Ahhh, I see what you're talking about. Yes yes, I can surely help you, my dear Batter."

Zacharie jumped in, taking The Batter by the hand and dragging him outside into the rain. He pointed East and ran in that direction, dragging the Batter behind him. He grabbed his bat before he got dragged along, so they had at least one way of protection: him.


	2. Chapter 2

Zacharie led The Batter to the station where a car hung on a sort of zip line, its doors opening to the code Zacharie inserted.

"Batter's first. Ha ha ha."

He said, pointing to the open door with his arms. The Batter slowly walked in cautiously, Zacharie following in after him.

"Where do you wish to go?"

"The Post Office, if you will."

The Batter replied, sitting down on one of the benches. Zacharie inserted yet another code and the car lurched forward, starting to go smoothly down the line. Zacharie stumbled over to the bench and sat down next to The Batter, tugging at his sweater. It was quiet between them for a long while, since the ride to the post office was quite lengthy. The Batter glared at Zacharie from the corner of his eye from time to time, as multiple questions about him popped up in his head. He turned himself away from Zacharie, as he placed his chin on the bat, swaying back and forth with the car. Zacharie noticed this, and looked at him curiously. Forcing himself to think it was just his equilibrium off, he looked forward, staring into space. This was one of the times when Zacharie actually had some quiet time to himself, not quite since The Batter was sitting right next to him, but close enough to assume everything was silent, aside from the rattling of the car. He lied down on the bench, adjusting his legs to fit perfectly on The Batter's lap. He chuckled lightly, as The Batter looked at him in concern.

"Don't do that."

He said darkly. Zacharie tapped the ears to his Judge mask and smirked.

"Nice try, Batter."

The Batter rolled his eyes as Zacharie tried to zone out into his thoughts. The car was quiet, and he had successfully zoned out, thoughts whirring through his head about a topic he had never really considered thinking about since the day it happened. It wasn't exactly a jaunty topic, it was a story that changed the way he lived. Just thinking about it made him cry, and it did. He began to whimper lightly, sniffling. It immediately caught The Batter's attention. Zacharie began to snuggle with himself, twisting and turning. He kicked The Batter a couple of times, but he didn't seem to care, or he just didn't feel them at all. The Batter reached over and placed his hand on Zacharie's mask, seeing him instantly stiffen at his firm touch.

"B-Batter…"

"Is there something on your mind you want to talk about?"

"Aren't you a know-it-all."

Zacharie retorted, attempting to chuckle through all the sadness. He sat up, looking at The Batter.

"It's a pretty sensitive topic…"

"Well, I have a sensitive topic on my mind too."

The Batter confessed.

"R-Really? Tell me."

"I will if it'll make you feel better."

Zacharie nodded, and listened in closely.

"It may mean something more serious than it sounds, but I may be suffering from minor memory loss. I remember what happened one moment, and forget the next."

"Mmmhm… I see. I don't know how I can help you with that…"

Zacharie sighed. "I didn't expect you to know how to assist me in these times. Zacharie, If it's so bad, why don't you just tell me so you can get the thought out of your mind? That helps me."

The Batter offered, trying his very best to cheer him up. His fatherly side was showing, as he was treating Zacharie almost like his son.

"Coming from you, it must really work,"

He grinned,

"Okay. It's just… Wow, I… Okay. It was all the way back when I was… What, double digits? Yeah. A-Anyway, it was a fine day, and I was walking around the library grounds like any ordinary kiddo. But then- this is when the story gets intense, be ready- I was taken to the top of the building, so high up, I could look down at the ground and see the people as small as an ant. I was terrified… The strange cloaked man and unhumanly sized bird who took me up there in the first place examined me cautiously. They apparently decided it would be better if they tied me up to a stick, so they did, which made me even more frightened then I was before. I tried to scream, but the dude with the cloak pressed down on both corners of my lip with his thumbs. It seemed to me like whatever he did left a scar, a big enough scar to where I could feel it creep up my face. My face grew numb, and I couldn't stop my eyes from puffing up and pulsing. It was gross, I have to admit. But then, they untied me from the rope and hooked fishing lines onto almost every inch of my arms using those hooks you use to lure in fish. They p-played around with me like I w-was some sort of p-p-puppet…. A-And…"

He wailed loudly and buried his hands in his mask.

"You're lucky enough that mask of yours prevents me from seeing you cry. I'd have to say you had a very emotional story to share."

"LOOK AT ME, BATTER!"

He screamed, ripping off his mask. His face was a pale white, as if it was painted on, but it wasn't. His pupils and iris' were the same exact shade of yellow, the kind of yellow you would see in a Sharpie highlighter, and his sclera was an eerie midnight black. He had what seemed like large black dimples on the corner of his lips, almost like the Pokémon Pikachu, yet lower and larger in size. The tears running down the poor boy's face didn't seem to fade away any of what looked like white face paint or large black dimples, it was all real.

"This isn't _normal…! _I shouldn't even have to be going through this!"

"Control yourself, Zacharie. You're overdoing it."

Zacharie ran over to The Batter and clinged onto him, sobbing into his shoulder. The Batter did nothing in return, for he knew that all Zacharie needed was something, or in this case some_one, _to embrace.

"I'm a monster…"

Zacharie whispered to him, lying his head down on The Batter's shoulder. "Don't do that." The Batter said sternly, shoving Zacharie off of him.

"Don't talk to yourself like that. If you want to know who the real monster is, it's the one you would never expect it to be."

"Like _that's _supposed to make me feel any BETTER ABOUT MYSELF!"

Zacharie bellowed, as the both of them lurched forward unexpectedly.

"We have arrived."

The Batter said flatly, walking out of the car door. Zacharie scoffed and followed behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

When the two of them reached the Post Office, it was busy as all get out. Elsen everywhere were working their tails off trying to deliver, stamp, and box the mail. Zacharie hid his face in his sweater at first as he attempted to fix the string on the mask. The Batter led him to where they needed to go for the time being, as he examined each Elsen curiously.

"They must be busy."

He remarked.

"No kidding. Just imagine doing this every day for a living. I would die."

"You already make a good enough living selling items. You don't have to think about going into the postage industry."

"Right on."

Zacharie finally fixed the string on his mask and put it over his head, adjusting it onto his face.

"Alrighty, I'm good."

The two of them continued walking onward, going into the elevator and to the room where you would receive any boxes or letters. They didn't exactly send it to your location as they used to before the specters invaded, but some Elsen found it easier to operate this way, where you entered the post office and picked up your mail for the day. The Batter walked up to the counter where the Elsen was standing, and looked down at him.

"I am here to receive a package."

"Very well… Hhhhhhh… What is your name?"

The Elsen asked him.

"I am The Batter."

The Elsen searched through the conveyor belt of boxes and pulled out a small box with claw marks on them.

"From a man who calls himself The Judge, sir…. Hhhhhhhh…"

The Batter took the box from the little Elsen and handed it to Zacharie to hold.

"Oh, that's real nice."

He retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Don't complain."

The Elsen went to grab a letter from the conveyor belt and walked around the counter and to Zacharie. He looked down at the Elsen, and bent down.

"What is it, buddy?"

He asked.

"You…. You have an important letter, mister…. Hhhhhhhhhhhh…"

"Important letter, huh? I never get any mail. Wonder who it could be from?"

Zacharie wondered, glaring up at The Batter, who gave him a stern stare in return. The Elsen walked back behind the counter and disregarded their presence. Zacharie ripped open the letter and scanned through the sloppy handwriting, which soon turned into delicate cursive. The letter read:

_Dear Mister Zacharie, the salesman, _

_Come to the top of the Library Thursday night at 8. We have a serious topic to discuss with you. COME. ALONE. Sincerely, Dedan and Japhet._

Zacharie eyed the letter curiously and handed it to The Batter.

"Do you know who 'Dedan' and 'Japhet' are?"

His eyes widened. He remembered Zacharie mentioning a cloaked man and an abnormally large bird. It was them.

"You won't believe me when I tell you this, but it's the cloaked man and the unhumanly large bird."

Zacharie's heart skipped a beat. He stood there, as if he were frozen in time, but in this case, frozen in fear.

"What do they want with me? They already did something to me that I haven't been able to erase! It might be another permanent scar or-"

"They won't do that. Not with me around."

The Batter guaranteed, as Zacharie gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you, mi amigo."

The two of them proceeded out of the room and headed down the elevator.

"It's 7:30. We should get going to the Library."

The Batter pointed out.

"Good idea. To the car on the zip line we go!"

Zacharie jousted, running into the car and typing in a code that would take them to the library. The Batter followed in after him.


	4. Chapter 4

After their short ride to the Library, the both of them sprinted in through the south entry way.

"Batter, we're gonna be late! I don't know if I should be concerned or relieved!"

Zacharie ranted worryingly, irking The Batter with his constant chatter.

"It's 7:55. We have time."

The Batter replied back, panting because of all the running. Zacharie hacked a few times, tripping and trying to keep up with him.

"THAT'S FIVE MINUTES!"

The Batter clutched onto Zacharie's face and dragged him.

"If you can't keep up, I'll make you keep up."

Zacharie's pleas came out as muffled screeches as The Batter made his way up the stairs. He slammed Zacharie into the wall a couple of times, but he would always find a way to snap him out of it. Half way up the stairs, The Batter decided that he should take out his weapon: his baseball bat. He let go of Zacharie and he stumbled down a flight of stairs.

"Come on, Zacharie. It's 3 minutes 'till 8."

"Well EXCUUUUUUUSE ME! I wasn't the one groping a man's face while running up 50 flights of stairs!"

"Stop you're complaining, you're irritating me."

"It's not my fault!"

"It is."

They argued until they reached the top of the last flight of stairs and to the top of the library.

"Here it goes, Batter. Don't scare anyone."

Zacharie whispered to him, poking his shoulder teasingly.

"Don't push your luck."

The two of them walked out the door and saw Dedan and Japhet standing there. Well, Japhet wasn't exactly standing, but you get my drift.

"Well well well. If it isn't the proud salesman and- Oh! Who do we have here? The Asshole? Why the hell did you bring _him _along, Zacharie boy?! I said to COME ALONE!"

Dedan rushed, bellowing angrily.

"Do you think I care about what you want? No. The Batter is here because he's my friend."

"That man is no friend. A slave, more like it! How about you use him for a good ass whipper, eh?! Son of a damn bitch!"

Dedan laughed. Japhet was silent for the time being. Dedan cleared his throat loudly, ready to continue.

"Zacharie, why don't you walk on over here and let me show you a little something."

Zacharie looked at The Batter in utter confusion, and all The Batter did was give him a nod. Zacharie approached Dedan and Japhet, tightening up his mask.

"Good boy, good boy! Listening to your old man!"

Dedan waited for Zacharie to approach closer before he spun Zacharie around to where he was facing The Batter in a straight line, to where if they ran forward, they would collide straight on. Dedan grabbed onto the string keeping Zacharie's mask in place and attempted to untie it. His large claw-like hands were far too large for this task, yet, he managed to untie the tight knot on the mask. He gently pulled it off Zacharie's face, exposing the horrid damage done to him underneath. The Batter didn't seem concerned, not like he was about anything, but Zacharie was cautious about how The Batter would react to everything going on. He took it in more fine than he thought.

"Japhet, you wanna have the honors of showing Zacharie here our little toy?"

Dedan asked Japhet, who did not look at him in return.

"I would prefer you do it. I am not the bird to ask to summon such dangerous creatures."

Japhet replied.

"Dangerous creatures? What?! What in the world is going on here?!"

Dedan covered Zacharie's mouth with his large claw hand and gripped onto his neck with the other. The Batter quickly reacted, as he attempted to charge at Dedan, but Japhet stopped him.

"Keep the asshole still. We're not quite done here."

He tried to move, but he seemed almost frozen in his spot. Did Japhet paralyze him? Zacharie tried shouting The Batter's name, but it resulted in him chocking as Dedan clenched his wind pipes. He began to hypervelliate, not because of pain, but because of what they might do to The Batter. He knew well enough what they did to himself, and he didn't want to see that same thing happen to The Batter. Japhet nuzzled himself in his large wings and stared The Batter down, which was how The Batter couldn't move in the first place.

"Now, Batter, I would like to show your dear friend here you're little secret that not even YOU know about! Ha! What a shame. I guess you humans are mindless assholes after all. Oh wait, neither of you are human!"

Dedan said, laughing at his own joke. The Batter remained silent, as Zacharie stared at him, tears filling his eyes.

"Get on with it, Dedan. We don't have all night."

Japhet spoke up.

"Hold your horses! Damn, you guys rush. Anyway, Zacharie, meet the true Batter! Ahem…,"

He leaned over close to Japhet.

"What am I… Supposed to do?"

"Let me handle this. It takes a lot of time and concentration, certainly not something in your limited patience span."

Japhet replied, as he slowly eased himself into The Batter's mind, triggering the one memory that was needed for this to work. It was a normal ordinary thought, but something about it triggered The Batter in a way that was unimaginable. The Batter was with Vader Eloha, his beloved wife, and his child, Hugo. The two of them, Eloha and The Batter, got into a fairly large argument.

"I will make a new world. A better world. Without you!"

She shouted at him. His eyes were filled with tears, yet he was keeping his emotion in fairly well.

"I will destr-… I will destro-… I will purify that land of yours, and I will not stop until my last breath."

He stuttered. Vader Eloha picked up the child from the ground and held him in her arms.

"You are a terrible, terrible man! Curses on you! Bad Batter! Bad Batter!"

She scolded him, as The Batter froze. All that was left of that memory was the sight of his monstrous hands that were then claws. It was a horrifying day for The Batter, not much Eloha, and the child, Hugo. Hugo should never have had to see what had become of his father, but lucky for him and his mother, they escaped before the Bad Batter could charge at them. In the present time, Zacharie, Dedan, and Japhet were staring anxiously at The Batter (Japhet had a content glare on his face, aside from a devilish smirk).

"Did you do it?"

Dedan whispered to Japhet.

"Yes. Now, all you need to do is scold him."

"Scolding is what I do best."

Dedan cackled, lifting up Zacharie and hovering him over the ledge. Zacharie attempted to scream, but he was muffled.

"Alllllright, Batter. You show yourself, or Zacharie's gone."

Zacharie struggled under Dedan's impossibly tight grip, and felt himself growing dizzy, his sight getting blurry.

"Not exactly like that, Dedan. That's not scolding. That's threatening."

Japhet interrupted.

"Oho. Damn, you're right."

Dedan cleared his throat

. "Okay. Batter, I want you to fucking DIE. AWAY WITH YOUR PITIFUL PURIFYING SCHEMES! BLOOAHAHA!"

Japhet facepalmed.

"You seriously do not know what you're doing. You're embarrassing yourself. Let me handle this."

He approached The Batter slightly and took the voice of Vader Eloha. The Batter was already staring up at him, still frozen in his spot. He spread his wings and looked down at The Batter.

"Curses on you! Curses on everything you've ever desired! You are dead to me, dear Batter. May your soul be fed to the fallen angels of hell! Bad Batter! Bad Batter!"

The Batter's muscles stiffened at Eloha's scolding voice. Every thought about that day came back. All the pain, and all the fury he felt. It all returned.

"Nnnnn- STOP IT!"

The Batter shouted, hunching over slightly, as his legs arched in an awkward position.

"Bad Batter! You are nothing more than a monster that deserves to be misshaped! Bad Batter! Bad Bad Batter!"

Japhet shouted once again in Vader Eloha's voice, watching as The Batter slowly spread his fingers apart, letting them transform into demonic claws. Zacharie turned his head over to face The Batter, and he stared at him in horror. He was still being hovered over the ledge, but that didn't prevent him from trying to escape.

"BATTER!"

He attempted to shout, but it came out as an array of miscellaneous sounds. The Batter began to snarl, almost like an angry dog fighting with a chew toy. Japhet backed away, returning to Dedan's side.

"You're welcome."

He said, and Dedan howled with laughter.

"This is exactly what I wanted!"

Dedan removed his hand from Zacharie's throat, first pulling him away from the ledge, and he immediately gasped for air. Dedan moved both of his hands away from their original location and placed one on both sides of Zacharie's head, so he had no choice but to stare at The Batter quaking with pain. He fell to one side, keeping himself up with his large claw about the side of 3 base plates (as in baseball). His fingers were very thin, which gave him the advantage of very lengthy fingers, times the length of his claw-like fingernails. Zacharie stared at the poor Batter in horror, as he witnessed what looked like an overly dramatic deformation of The Batter as a whole. His skin now looked like a river of tar, running down like a melting chocolate bar. His face had formed into one of a crocodile, with blade-like fangs for teeth. With eyes as white as purity, and with a festiveness of a coyote, he stood before Dedan, Zacharie, and Japhet, letting out a treacherous roar. Zacharie flinched at how loud The Batter had become.

"This is your friend, Zacharie. Behold! The baddest of the bad.- Japhet, I know baddest is not a word- The BAD Batter! GYAHAHAHA!"

The Bad Batter dragged himself over to the three, specifically eyeing Zacharie.

"Ah, you remember him? Good good! The puppeteer… A puppet himself! With a damn snappy attitude to match."

Dedan nudged Zacharie. He was referencing him when he said 'The Puppeteer, A Puppet Himself.' Zacharie had come from a bloodline filled with individuals who specialized in puppet crafting. He had only inherited the selling part of the whole puppet crafting industry, for after they perfected their puppet/s, they sold them to children worldwide. They had a company, a wealthy one at that, which was intended for Zacharie to run, but his career was cut short after the incident. He used to craft puppets with his mother and father, whom were the ones who acknowledged him for his skill in puppet making. After their son had mysteriously disappeared, they decided to close the business down and start anew, except their session was cut short after they were anonymously murdered. Zacharie had forced himself to forget everything he ever learned from his psychotic family who led him to believe that he was a 'puppet monster', and went on a different path in his life, alone and forgotten. He decided to make masks instead of puppets, for he knew he couldn't walk around looking like some sort of serial killer. He made a mask of a toad and of a cat, his mother and father's favorite animals. He used the still bleeding-a-sort-of-black-ooze cheeks to paint on the faces and extra details. He painted smiles on the masks on purpose. Hearing him being called by The Puppeteer after years of never being mentioned of it gave him the burning sensation in his throat, which told him that he was on the verge of tears. The Bad Batter growled lowly at Zacharie, as if he knew he was going to cry. Japhet stood proud, enveloping himself in his feathers once again. Dedan was silent as he watched what the Bad Batter might do to Zacharie.

"I'm not…. I-I-I'm not… IIIIIII'M NOOOOOOOT THE PUPPETEEEEEEEERRRR!"

He wailed, throwing himself onto the concrete surface. A large crack was heard as his elbow hit the ground, which made Zacharie scream in such a high pitched tone, it set off the Bad Batter. He stormed over to Dedan and slammed him onto the ground, pinning him down with his enormous strength. Dedan stared up at what had become of The Batter and let the Bad Batter slay him. Japhet crept towards Zacharie and picked him up, noting that his left arm was dislocated. He hissed through clenched teeth at the sight.

"We need to get you to a hospital."

The Bad Batter looked up at Japhet and growled at him.

"Sorry, Batter, but Zacharie is in too critical of a condition for you to meddle around with."

Japhet gave one last look at Dedan and flew off towards the hospital. The Bad Batter roared at him, and turned his attention towards Dedan. He walked on over to him and began ripping away pieces of his flesh with his teeth, eating a meal provided by Dedan's flesh and blood.


	5. Chapter 5

As Japhet landed near the hospital, he held the whimpering Zacharie in his arms. He covered him with his feathers and walked inside of the hospital to be greeted by fearful Elsen.

"I would never be doing this if your injury wasn't as serious as a broken arm."

Japhet said, taking Zacharie into an empty hospital room. He gently placed Zacharie on the bed, almost like placing a doll on a plastic bed because of his enormous size. Elsen came to the scene and immediately went to Zacharie's aid.

"He has a broken arm. Return him to his shop once you're finished with him."

The lead Elsen nodded shakily as Japhet departed from the building. Back on the roof of the Library, bones stained with blood coated the ground where the Bad Batter had smashed him. He stuck out his tongue a couple of times, similar to that of a reptile (notably a snake or lizard). He stormed to the door and walked down the flights of stairs, hoping to reach the hospital without anyone noticing him. He still looked intimidating, especially with blood coating his fangs and mouth. Meanwhile at the hospital, the Elsen gently wrapped a cast around Zacharie's arm. He whimpered a bit in pain as the Elsen moved it into a new position, but after that, he seemed fine.

"Th-Thank you."

Zacharie said.

"Hhhh… You're welcome, sir."

The Elsen replied, and left the room. Zacharie was far beyond afraid. His name had been disclosed after so many years of trying to forget everything about it. He lied there in the room, hurt and alone. The only thing on his mind was his tortured past. Outside, the Bad Batter made his way to the hospital, rainclouds starting to loom over the area. He sighed, and walked in, looking at all the Elsen staring at him in utter shock. They made a path for him, and attempted to avoid him. He hissed at them as he made his way to where he assumed Zacharie was, for his incredible sense of smell led his way. He tried to close his fingers around the door and open it to find out that it successfully worked. Zacharie looked in the direction of the door past the curtain, and saw what he thought was the Bad Batter.

"Batter? S'That you?"

He got a low sad growl in response.

"He-Hey… Don't cry! Here, move the curtains away."

Zacharie said, trying to cheer him up. A large claw, just as Zacharie remembered, pushed away the curtains. The Bad Batter had a gloomy look on his face, enhanced by the blood splattered all over him. Zacharie signaled him to come closer, and the Bad Batter did so.

"Come 'ere, big buddy. Don't cry over me like this."

He said, as he attempted to hug the Bad Batter with his one arm. He hugged him back awkwardly, and with his other claw, he examined the strange cast on Zacharie's left arm. Zacharie cringed as the Bad Batter lifted up his wounded arm.

"I hurt it pretty bad… L-Leave it alone."

He said with as much patience as he could. The Bad Batter moved his hand away and let out a soft whimper. Zacharie rubbed his back in return, feeling the Bad Batter slowly shrink. The Batter was back, hugging him in a caring and loving embrace.

"It was my entire fault. I could not protect you from myself."

Zacharie felt four individual teardrops drip onto the sleeve of his sweater, as The Batter placed his head on Zacharie's shoulder like a pillow.

"Nah, man. It wasn't your fault at all! It was… It was really mine…"

The Batter pulled away.

"Why did you do that to yourself?! You had me worried!"

"I just… I was struck with so much sadness that I… I don't know what got into me. I guess just seeing you… And then that thing… It was just too much."

"I know what you are trying to say."

"I thought you would, Mister Know-It-All."

Zacharie chuckled, bringing himself nose to nose with The Batter. Zacharie slowly removed The Batter's hat with his right arm, exposing The Batter's four eyes. _Four. _Zacharie wiped away the tears of each of the eyes, looking at how much pity The Batter had.

"It wasn't your fault."

"I know that."

Zacharie smiled at The Batter's response, and brought himself closer, to where they were nearly touching lips. The Batter flushed a deep crimson, as Zacharie brought a kiss to his lips. He wrapped his only arm around The Batter's neck like a scarf, as he felt The Batter soon kiss back. Minutes later, Zacharie pulled away, breathing heavily.

"I… Oh…"

He said. The Batter was completely silent, the blush on his face bringing out the red in his eyes.

"I made that a little awkward."

Zacharie confessed, as The Batter placed his baseball cap back on his head.

"Need I say more?"

He said sarcastically, making Zacharie laugh.

"A great time to use sarcasm, Batter."

He stood up from the bed, as The Batter bent down so that Zacharie could use him to keep his balance. Zacharie's smile grew, and The Batter nodded in return.

"Next time I'm teaching you how to smile."

Zacharie said, as The Batter nudged him a little.

"Only focus on what lies ahead of you in life. I do not think that making me smile is one of them."

Zacharie chuckled and walked out the door with The Batter's help.

"Too bad I'm a lefty."

Zacharie sighed, walking to the car and entering the code to get in. The two got in and sat down.

"I guess that's one disadvantage."

"One? I got plenty more others!"

He complained, as The Batter nudged him again, this time a bit harder.

"Don't push it."

He said, trying to act teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll try not to."

The two of them sat next to each other on the bench in the car for the rest of the ride home. Zacharie had fallen asleep on The Batter's lap, and The Batter was still wide awake, in case they reached home before they awoke. He didn't mind Zacharie on his lap.


	6. Chapter 6

As they arrived back at Zacharie's shop, The Batter carried Zacharie inside, basically letting himself in. He walked over to one of the available cushioned surfaces and gently placed him down. Normally, he would just fling him into the air and watch him plop down with the surface breaking under the weight, but he decided that it would be a little too harsh, considering the fact that his arm was broken, and he had been through a lot emotionally and mentally, even. With that, The Batter walked into the back room where all the items Zacharie sold were kept. They were stacked high up on shelves, some even exceeding the ceiling. He walked around, and while he did, he stumbled upon Zacharie's toad mask he was polishing less than twenty four hours ago before he bombarded in. He bent down to pick it up, and heard Zacharie tapping his foot at the entry way. The Batter turned around to face him, a quizzical expression on his face.

"I see you have woken up."

He pointed out.

"Yuh huh."

Zacharie snapped back, walking into his office and snatching his mask from The Batter's hands.

"I was going to pick that up for you."

The Batter said, not bothering to start up a fight.

"Yeah okay."

He scoffed, tying the string around his head.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do here."

The Batter moved out of his way and sat down in the chair parallel from the large office desk, similar to one a principal would use at a school.

"I know you must feel dreadful after all that has occurred between you and Deda-"

Zacharie leaned forward and smacked The Batter across the face.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it. All I can tell you is that I am seriously not in a jaunty mood right now."

The Batter rubbed his cheek, staring at Zacharie in pity.

"I can help you."

"NO. You can't. No one can. No one's _ever _been able to."

He retorted, reclining back in his seat.

"If you would listen to me-"

"You know what? Just SHUT UP. LEAVE. WHATEVER."

The Batter was silent. There was no use arguing over him. He knew that what had happened up on the roof of the Library was something none of them should have ever gone through. Zacharie should have never met the Bad Batter, he didn't have to be called from his infamous villain nickname, The Puppeteer, he didn't need to remember his past, none of it. Dedan and Japhet must have planned something, and they must have done it on purpose to try and point out something in their future. Nothing was learned that day, what could they possibly not be getting? The Batter leaned forward and grabbed the portable radio from the far left corner of the desk. He fiddled around with the knob, tuning into some stations, and stopped at one once he heard radio broadcasted sirens.

"Attention everyone! There has been a sighting of a creature's skeleton spotted at the top of the Zone 2 Library. The Library has been temporarily shut down. Some say that there were two young men, a bird the size of a Phoenix, and a six foot tall cloaked man. Minutes later, they said that one of the men turned into a ferocious monster, which they are claiming is a foreboding of the end of the world,"

Zacharie stared at the miniature radio, as did The Batter by this point.

"I am now being told by some of the young of this town that the young man being held over the ledge from afar was none other than The Puppeteer who hasn't been sighted by the public in eight years. Can this really be true? Everyone, lock your doors! The Puppeteer has returned!"

The Batter shut off the radio before he could hear anymore.

"People actually… Saw that?"

Zacharie asked no one in particular.

"I suppose they did. I can't quite put my finger on who the 'ferocious monster' was, however."

The Batter pondered. Zacharie gave him a look that said it-was-obviously-you-dumbass, but The Batter didn't seem to catch it.

"I guess all we can do now is hide in my shop."

"We are not going to hide. I am not the one who hides. I am the one that purifies. I am taking you to a public museum so you and I can see some history."

"There _is _no history."

"Don't complain. You're coming with me."

The Batter shot up from his chair and walked over to the left side of Zacharie's chair, looming over him.

"Excuse me, dear Batter, but I am temporarily _handicapped_, I can't go anywhere in the public."

The Batter picked up Zacharie in a bridal fashion and walked out the office and to the front door.

"Don't pull that excuse on me."

He said darkly, opening up the front door with his foot, surprisingly not falling back, but for Zacharie, it was like a wild roller coaster ride.

"Careful, mi amigo!"

"I know what I'm doing."

The Batter walked his way to the museum, for it was not far, and he was used to walking everywhere. Zacharie got bored fairly quickly, and began flicking The Batter's hat, laughing every time The Batter tried to stop him by biting his finger.

"You're silly." Zacharie would always say, and The Batter would give an eye roll in response.


	7. Chapter 7

When they finally reached the museum, people of all ages surrounded each of the vivid exhibits. The Batter put Zacharie down, trying to avoid his left arm cast.

"Careful, Carefu- Gooooood Batter. Good job!"

Zacharie chuckled, as The Batter led him around the museum. Everyone was hesitantly chattering about what had happened on the roof of the Library. Conversations like,

"Did you hear about what happened at the Library?"

And

"Oh gosh! I need to return my overdue Library book!"

Filled the museum. Security guards eyed the two of them suspiciously, whispering to each other. As The Batter moved on to the next exhibit, kids were staring at Zacharie and The Batter in complete confusion. One of the kids even poked The Batter and asked,

"Did you hear what happened on the roof?"

The Batter was quite for a while before he responded.

"Yes, I did. I was there."

Zacharie shoved him forcefully, not making any impact on him.

"Are you crazy?! You can't just go around a public place with tons of people saying 'Oh, I was at the viral even that has driven EVERYONE CRAZY!"

He hissed. The Batter disregarded him and walked him into an elevator.

"No one here is going to take me seriously."

As they walked in, so did a security guard, who eyed the both of them with an intense stare. Zacharie noticed him, and looked back at him from time to time.

"That security guard is giving me the heebie jeebies!"

He whispered to The Batter.

"Don't talk to me."

"Oh, I see how it's gonna be."

Zacharie humphed, folding his arms. They walked out onto the balcony of the top floor, the security guard right behind them. The two of them walked around a bit, remaining anonymous and quiet. After a long twenty minutes of looking at the same thing, Zacharie dragged The Batter over to a bench and pushed him down.

"I'm dead, Batter. People keep looking at me like they _know."_

"You don't know for sure. You may just be thinking ahead."

"Thinking ahead?!"

The security then jumped into their conversation after Zacharie's complaint.

"Hello, sirs. I am Benjamin."

He held out his hand to The Batter, who shook it firmly.

"I am The Batter."

"The Batter, huh? Yeahhh, about that. Anyway,"

He turned his attention to Zacharie

. "You, sir, are suspicious."

"M-Me? Why me? I only sell stuff to people! Ha ha ha… I DON'T HAVE ANY DRUGS OKAY? I GET ASKED THAT TOO MANY TIMES."

Everyone in the room froze and stared.

"I don't…!"

He squeaked, looking back at the security guard. The Batter rolled his eyes and crossed his leg over his knee, examining the map on the wall of the First World War closely.

"Well, you're on our radar. We have a policy that specifically states that if you have on a mask or any disguise, we have to keep an eye on you. So, if I were you, I would take off that mask, _Puppeteer." _

Zacharie winced back, hitting his head up against the wall, cringing a bit in pain.

"How… You… I…"

The security guard took out fifteen fishing hooks from his pocket and laid them on the ground.

"These look familiar to you?"

He asked. Zacharie was quaking with fear. How did they know?

"I… YOOOOUUUU… But I just… How… Why…?"

The security guard lifted up one of the hook strings and plucked it.

"None of this looks a bit familiar? It even has your blood on it."

Zacharie glared at The Batter from the corner of his eye, trying to get his attention, but to no avail.

"Th-That's not mine…. No! Nooooope!"

He picked up Zacharie by his right arm, and The Batter immediately stood up after him.

"Put him down."

He demanded. The security guard didn't listen and went running to the balcony. The Batter followed after him, and people stopped and stared, even people on the lower floor.

"EVERYONE EVACUATE TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING!"

Benjamin shouted, as people began to scream and do what they were told. Zacharie was far beyond afraid.

"BATTER IM GONNA DIEEEEE!"

"Don't think about it. Don't make it your main focus. Focus on me, and everything will turn out just fine."

"WHY YOU?! IT'S ME WHO I'M WORRIED ABOUT!"

"Listen to my words of advice. They will be helpful to you."

The Batter stopped running and watched Benjamin run to the balcony with Zacharie.

"BATTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

He screamed, as his cries became nothing more than a silent whoosh of wind. The Batter turned around and began walking away, seeming as if that was the end. Zacharie still stared, whimpering The Batter's name. The Batter looked down as he began to walk away. Zacharie had lost hope.

"I'm a goner."

He said to himself before letting Benjamin take him away to the balcony. Everything grew quiet in the building, aside from The Batter's deep growling. He lifted his head up and let everything take place. He quickly turned himself around, roaring torturously at everything in front of him. The Bad Batter had come into play. Zacharie heard the roar and immediately felt relieved. At least he had something to look up to. Benjamin let him go, and cut off the sleeves of Zacharie's sweater with a pocket knife. Wounds from that day were still entirely visible, and his skin was stark white. The wounds were black circles, almost like the dimples on Zacharie's cheeks. Small holes remained from where Dedan had hung him that day with the same hooks Benjamin now had. Everyone stared up at the balcony, not knowing what was up there. Benjamin gently pushed the hook through one of the black circles on Zacharie's right arm, pushing it through the other side like a pin. Zacharie cringed and fell forward, Benjamin keeping him up. A bead of blood slowly made its way through the hook, as it soon began to ooze down the side of his arm. Thinking that the rest of the procedure was going to be a piece of cake, Benjamin shoved in more of the hooks into their places, soon to see blood streaming down the man's arm, and blood bubbling around the metal, clearly showing that Zacharie was reacting to the metal through an allergic reaction.

"We're going to have a problem with that cast of yours…"

Benjamin spoke up, readying his pocket knife.

"Just get it over with."

Zacharie said, inaudibly because of the strong winds coming in. Benjamin cut through the cast and grabbed ahold of more hooks he was provided with.

"You know, we had these hooks on a damn display."

He said, continuing what he did with Zacharie's right arm.

"Did you… Now…?"

He managed to say, feeling the other five hooks get shoved through his skin like pins. Benjamin proceeded to Zacharie's right arm once more and shoved one of the remaining five needles into the back of his hand, where an IV might be inserted. Zacharie screeched, as he felt Benjamin do the same procedure to his other hand.

"You…. Have three left…"

"Yeah. I do. Two of them go in your cheeks, and the other one goes behind your neck."

"I know…. W-Well enough…"

Benjamin grabbed one of the hooks and gently tried to push them through his cheeks. They wouldn't go through like a pin, but it would dig into the skin to where he could feel it in his mouth. It would slice straight through the skin like a butcher cutting meat. Zacharie's left arm was in more pain than it was before he broke it, now because it had six hooks pinned through it, _and _because it was broken. Benjamin inserted the last hook into the back of Zacharie's neck and brought him over to the balcony, still keeping him hidden.

"Everyone, behold!"

Benjamin began, attracting everyone's attention up at him.

"The villainous Puppeteer!"

Everyone gasped in horror, as Benjamin dangled Zacharie over the side, his arms being forced up in an awkward position. Benjamin moved the string tied onto the hook on Zacharie's neck upward and forced him to look up at the sky.

"Look at what you have made of our world!"

He shouted.

"I didn't do it!"

Zacharie screamed, struggling under the strings and hooks. What made it worse that he didn't want to smile. It was not that he didn't want to, it was because if he did, something not so good would happen, and he felt the foreboding that it was going to happen this day, this second, now. Benjamin gave him a chance to look back down at the screaming people. Some were screaming in protest, and others were screaming in complete terror. He shouldn't have to be going through this, it was all Dedan and Japhet's fault. Zacharie looked at his arms both spread apart, noting a strange red fog emitting from his hands.

"Sir, can you uh… Stop? I think there's something wrong with me."

"There's _definitely _something wrong with you!"

He howled, as everyone underneath jousted angrily. He felt like he was about to cry. He struggled to keep a smile from growing on his lips, but strangely enough, Benjamin wasn't forcing him to smile. Then he remembered. Dedan had said that day,

"The smile cannot be forced. Therefore, you must wait for it to happen. It will eventually! AHAHAHA!"

Zacharie shut his eyes tightly, trying to signal out that thought. Benjamin, from time to time, would pull on the strings on his arms, making it seem like he was leaning to one side. Out of the blue, there was a large crash, coming from the glass windows of the upper floor. A roar followed, as the Bad Batter tried to rip the strings from Benjamin's hands. The string connected to his neck was pulled up forcefully, lurching his neck back. He saw the Bad Batter and smiled.

"Batte-"

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes were forced to look forward, his neck out of his control. The strange red energy growing around his hands emitted into two large beams, as the clouds grew dark and grey. His eyes widened, and the smile on his face stayed. He couldn't do anything about it. A high pitched sound echoed through the town, just before a shockwave of red lightning swept through the town, and probably even closer areas, or even the world. Benjamin and the rest of the humans below were sizzled into nothing more than skeletons. The Bad Batter grabbed ahold of all the strings and pulled Zacharie up quickly, figuring out that he was unconscious. Almost immediately, the Bad Batter turned back into The Batter, and he held Zacharie in his arms. He-as gently and calmly as he could- pulled out each of the hooks, covering up the wounds left behind with ripped up shreds of cloth from Benjamin's shirt. He put pressure on each of the wounds individually to stop the bleeding. He stood up with Zacharie in his arms, looking up at the blackened sky and the burnt skeletons below. He was speechless.


End file.
